State Division transfer comes as Israel’s conflict and induced-famine in Gaza attain new extremes, with 61,827 killed to this point.
The US has introduced that it’s halting all customer visas for folks from Gaza pending a “a full and thorough” overview, a day after social media posts about Palestinian refugees sparked livid reactions from right-wingers.
The Division of State’s transfer on Saturday got here a day after far-right activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer posted on X that Palestinians “who declare to be refugees from Gaza” entered the US by way of San Francisco and Houston this month.
“How is permitting for Islamic immigrants to come back into the US America First coverage?” she stated on X in a later submit, happening to report additional Palestinian arrivals in Missouri and claiming that “a number of US Senators and members of Congress” had texted her to specific their fury.
Republican lawmakers talking publicly in regards to the matter included Chip Roy of Texas, who stated he would inquire in regards to the matter, and Randy Wonderful of Florida, who described the alleged arrivals as a “nationwide safety threat”.
By Saturday, the State Division introduced it was stopping visas for “people from Gaza” whereas it carried out “a full and thorough overview of the method and procedures used to difficulty a small variety of non permanent medical-humanitarian visas in current days”. It didn’t present a determine.
All customer visas for people from Gaza are being stopped whereas we conduct a full and thorough overview of the method and procedures used to difficulty a small variety of non permanent medical-humanitarian visas in current days.
— Division of State (@StateDept) August 16, 2025
The US issued 640 visas to holders of the Palestinian Authority journey doc in Might, in response to the Reuters information company. B1/B2 customer visas allow Palestinians to hunt medical therapy within the US.
Loomer greeted Saturday’s State Division announcement with glee.
“It’s superb how briskly we are able to get outcomes from the Trump administration,” she stated on Saturday, although she later posted that extra wanted to be performed to “spotlight the disaster of the invasion taking place in our nation”.
Whereas I recognize the State Division and @marcorubio issuing this assertion, I wish to press even tougher to spotlight the disaster of the invasion taking place in our nation.
The visas and arrivals of GAZANS to US airports isn’t new. This has been drastically growing in pace… https://t.co/mI5APTairz
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 16, 2025
The choice to chop visas comes as Israel intensifies its assaults on Gaza, the place no less than 61,827 folks have been killed up to now 22 months, with the United Nations warning that “widespread hunger, malnutrition and illness” are driving an increase in famine-related deaths.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing to grab Gaza Metropolis as a part of a takeover of the Strip, forcibly displacing a whole lot of 1000’s of Palestinians to focus zones.
